SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA (September 14, 2017): The Sant Rosa Junior College Hockey team announced today that the organization will begin charging admission to select home games this season at Snoopy's Home Ice. All games with early start times now cost to attend, while all games with a 9:15 p.m. time remain free of charge.

SRJC kicks off the season at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 vs UC Berkeley. This match-up is the first of five home games that the team will charge admission. The other games include Oct. 7 vs. Santa Clara University, Oct. 13 vs. CSU Long Beach, Nov. 11 vs. the University of Oregon and Jan. 20 vs. Cal Lutheran University. ​

Second-year head coach Blake Johnson made it well known when the Polar Bears began training camp in August that no player was guaranteed a spot on his team. He put all SRJC skaters, returning and new, through an intense five-week audition to determine who would suit up for the 2016-17 season. 
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Now, just days away from the Santa Rosa Junior College Hockey team’s first game of the year, Johnson has officially announced his roster for the team’s inaugural Division II campaign.

​To the Santa Rosa Junior College Hockey community, its fans, sponsors and supporters,

As management of the SRJC Ice Hockey team, we are writing to address the recent issues with our upcoming season that many of you have brought to our attention.
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With the release of our official 2016-2017 season schedule last week, we failed to disclose the significant time change for the team’s home games at Snoopy’s Home Ice. After several years of an 8:30 p.m. game time, this year each of the 9 games at Snoopy’s Home Ice will have a 9:15 p.m. start time. 

​Santa Rosa, California (August 9, 2016): After five seasons in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division III, the Santa Rosa Junior College Polar Bears announced today they will compete as a Division II squad for the 2016-17 season. SRJC now becomes the only known two-year school to make the division jump.

This announcement comes after a successful push by SRJC General Manager Tom Billeter over the last few years to change the ACHA rule that limited DII participation to four-year universities. He, along with College of the Canyons General Manager Jim Schrage, worked hard to break that DII barrier, successfully petitioning the ACHA rule change in late spring 2016.

According to Billeter, making the switch to DII was something that needed to be done to save the four remaining DIII teams in California. These teams— SRJC, College of the Canyons, Santa Clara University and UC Davis— were limited to few opponents in what Billeter called “practical travel distances.” Most of these teams rarely traveled outside of California, if at all. 

 “Our program's move to ACHA Division II will allow for tremendous growth potential in all facets of our organization,” Billeter said. “Competition, recruiting, travel and the on-ice product that SRJC offers will all accelerate. These are very exciting times for SRJC players, coaches and fans.”

The division change brings a new slew of competition the Polar Bears will face this season, each with a heighten level of importance. Competing against local DII teams, including longtime foe and Top 15 ranked San Jose State University, increases SRJC’s chance at a National Top 10 ranking. As a DIII team, SRJC rarely saw DIII ranked teams and only played a Top 5 contender once. 

With more games against ranked teams, the Polar Bears can expect a return to the ACHA Regional Tournament in 2017. SRJC has not seen ACHA playoff action since its first round loss to Robert Morris University in 2014.
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The SRJC Hockey team begins its inaugural ACHA Division II season in October 2016.

Kicking off SRJC’s Top 10 statistics of the 2015-16 season: No. 10- Penalties.    
                                       
It's no secret that the SRJC Hockey team has an undying love for the penalty box. Seriously, players camped out there so much this season we’re thinking of charging them rent. 
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The Polar Bears took 166 penalties in 25 games for a total of 454 minutes— that’s a 95-minute increase from the 2014-15 season. While the team incurred a variety of different infractions, the most common were roughing (30) and tripping (24). A close third was unsportsmanlike conduct and interference (both at 15). 
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